World-class tech and creative talent in the spotlight at new festival, 22-29 April
LEEDS International Festival is an exciting addition to Yorkshire’s cultural calendar, running for the first time this year for one week from 22 to 30 April.
Showcasing the best of the city’s creative talent to a global audience, Leeds International Festival (LIF) will also provide a platform for some world-class arts and tech practitioners.
With three main strands of music, moving image and tech, plus fringe events including fashion and food, streets and venues across Leeds city centre will be buzzing with all sorts. From performances to premieres, exhibitions to unconferences, and debates to demos, LIF is gearing up to be informative as well as entertaining.
Highlights include Maxїmo Park headlining the festival finale, the premiere of feature film Do You Want To Win? featuring former Leeds United player Vinnie Jones and Lauren Laverne leading a one-day event for women in tech. Leeds Fashion Shows will transform Briggate into the north’s biggest fashion hub, and a talk from Market Wraps / The Allotment – proper Yorkshire streetfood.
With three main strands of music, moving image and tech, plus fringe events including fashion and food, streets and venues across Leeds city centre will be buzzing
Led by award-winning festival Live At Leeds, LIF’s cutting-edge music programme brings a genre-busting line-up to the heart of the city, from the Leeds International Festival Orchestra’s evening of video game music to the likes of Jazz Jamaica.
Leeds is the birthplace of moving image and, to celebrate, two brand-new films will be premiered at LIF 2017, including the third instalment of The City Talking BBC film series, Music In Leeds, telling stories from the city’s music history.
In the current context of phone-tapping and fake news, check out How 2016 Became The Year Of The Hack: Cybersecurity In Overdrive! and Biohacking, CyberPunk & Hacker Culture talk, with international TED speakers, and The Future of Technology, exploring what comes next after drones delivering your shopping, robots performing surgery and driverless cars.
